Involved
by Flitty
Summary: After an incredibly non-standard battle, Ash decides to involve himself in his journeys even more. Smart!Ash. Starts in the finals of the Lily of the Valley Conference. Undergoing a complete rehaul.


**Welcome to my new series!**

**Key:**

"Speech"

**"Announcer"**

Any other speech types will be added in the header as they come.

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><p>Ash and his partner Pikachu were excited.<p>

It was fairly obvious, as they currently ran in circles cheering their heads off.

On the ceiling.

"Ash, you might want to stay upright," Dawn told the two, giggling at their antics.

"Yeah, you don't want to get footprints on the ceiling," Brock chipped in, "you'd have to clean it yourself." The pair skidded to a halt, and the universe rebooted itself in a successful attempt to restart gravity. "I didn't mean stop-" The breeder-in-training winced as the trainer and his starter landed on their heads. Legends would later be told about the two mysterious cracks in the unbreakable Pokemon Center flooring.

"Come on Ash, your battle's in ten minutes!" It took a second, but Dawn's comment finally registered in the ten-year-old-forever's mind, and he charged out of the Center, heading for the battlefield and shouting something that sounded remarkably like a battle cry, conveniently forgetting his most recent concussion.

Ten minutes later, Ash stood on the green side of the field, dimly aware of the deafening cheer swamping the area. He stood proud and waited for the announcement with six Pokeballs clipped to his belt. Pikachu mimicked his Trainer's pose from on top of the boy's head, a confident smirk pasted on both of their faces. This battle would make history. At least for the pair of them.

**"And the final battle of the Lily of the Valley Conference is about to be underway!" **The announcer's voice pierced through the cheering like a whip, and Ash and Pikachu gave a start.** "The trainer to win two of three two-on-two matches will gain the honour of challenging the Sinnoh Elite Four! Today will mark the first two-on-two battle, and each trainer may pick from all Pokemon they have access to! In the case of a tie, a fourth one-on-one match will decide the victor! In the green corner, we have Ash Ketchum, of Pallet Town! With his stunning victory in the semi-finals, not to mention the previous matches, Ash has proven to us that despite his young age, he is a force to be reckoned with!"**

The cheers tripled in volume, and Ash felt the beginnings of a mild headache. Not to let that stop him, he grinned and looked over to his opponent. **"And in the red corner stands Tobias! The only Pokemon this mysterious man has used throughout the competition is Darkrai! Will Ash finally reveal the rest of his team? There's only one way to find out!"**

"BEGIN!" At the sound of the judge's voice and whistle, Ash threw his first Pokeball, dislocating his arm in excitement. His hissed slightly and popped it back into place, before turning back to the field.

**"And Ash has countered the expected Darkrai with the bug and fighting type Heracross!"**

"Heracross, start with Horn Attack!" The announcer's voice was drowned out by the adrenaline as the dark blue bug rushed head-on towards Darkrai, horn lowered in preparation to attack.

"I thought you were less simple than that, Ash," Tobias taunted. "Darkrai, Dark Void." The knight in dark armour charged a purple ball of energy, then lobbed it like a baseball at Heracross.

"Rush it head on!" Tobias lost his composure slightly, but nobody noticed in the small time it took to hide it in a smirk. The orb predictably hit Heracross in the forehead, and Heracross predictably fell asleep, tripping forward tens of meters thanks to the momentum and falli- "Sleep Talk!"

Ah. That was his cunning plan? Tobias did a few calculations. Heracross only had three attacking moves or less; one slot was taken by sleep talk. Another was Horn Attack, which really wasn't anything to worry about. It was the two surprise moves that Tobias would have to look out for, and he wouldn't even get a warning in the form of a command.

Tobias watched as Heracross' attack charged up, his left arm glowing silver as the momentum carried him towards Darkrai. "It's focus punch! Dodge it!" Darkrai obeyed, gliding almost lazily to the left and out of harm's way. Heracross continued in his blind run as he unconsiously swung back a fist.

"Switch!" Ash's voice rang out, and a million possibilities zapped through Tobias' mind. He was calling back Heracross? Sadly, not to be. Heracross' arm returned to its regular state, and the bug smirked. Smirked! While sleeping! Tobias suddenly knew why; the bug's horn was glowing.

Oh, Lord Arceus, creator of all.

"Darkrai!" The being of the night turned, but the silver and blue missile that was Heracross skimmed its shoulder. With an unspoken command from the grey-haired trainer, Darkrai locked onto the sleeping bullet and fired an Ice Beam at his exposed back.

"Left!" Tobias watched in barely concealed admiration as Heracross bested the odds and heard its trainer once more, blindly following Ash's directions in an incredible display of trust. He carefully tuned the announcer's commentary back in; maybe there would be a nugget of inspiration within.

**"-seems to be able to hear Ash, even in its sleep! I have no idea-" **Probably not, then.

"Darkrai, Dark Pulse." The rings of energy pummelled Heracross into the earth, powerful enough to knock even Latios out in one hit.

"Up!" A silver blur pierced through the sea of darkness, as Heracross flew upwards, spinning to redirect the attack, and Darkrai started visibly sweating in its efforts to hold up the barricade.

"Dream eater, quickly!" Darkrai pulled down its Dark Pulse shield for just long enough to charge its attack, but it was too late. The silver impacted the black, while a shadow passed through the blue, and both Pokemon fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! This round is a tie!"

Ash and Pikachu's faces lit up as both sides recalled their Pokemon. He could do this! "Thanks, Heracross," he whispered as he clipped the Pokeball to his belt. "You were brilliant."

**I can't believe it, folks! Our ten year old hero is the first to make it past Tobias' Darkrai, and with a single Pokemon, no less! What will the second matchup entail?"**

"Go, Bayleef!" The announcer's voice was once again drowned out as Ash threw a Pokeball onto the field. Three seconds later and the trainer was on the floor, having been bowled over by the Pokemon he had sent out. He stood up quickly, turning to face Tobias' Pokemon, and Bayleef followed his gaze to the Latios. "Be a dear and help me out, Bayleef?" He asked, still giggling a little.

The plant Pokemon's face stayed blank for a second, before a small smile overtook her face. Latios flinched slightly. That smile wasn't natural. The moment passed, however, and Bayleef stood before Ash, ready for battle.

Tobias took the initiative. "Latios, Luster Purge!" The blue dragon type charged for a moment, before unleashing a massive burst of pink energy.

"Dodge left, then use Razor Leaf on the edge!" Bayleef sidestepped the gigantic attack, skimming six leaves towards its opponent. Catching on the edge of Luster Purge, the spin of the leaves increased tenfold, trailing pink glitter through the air as they sailed towards Latios. "Follow it up with Body Slam!"

"Latios, to the sky!" The pink and green blades caught up with Latios, slicing up his right wing. Before the yellowish grass type could attack again, however, Latios was up in the air. "Use Ice Beam!"

"Jump with Vine Whip, then hit Latios with a Body Slam!" Ash and Pikachu closed their left fists in anticipation as Bayleef rocketed through the air, straight over the super effective attack. Time seemed to stop as a small smile fought its way onto the dinosaur Pokemon's face for a millisecond. Latios flinched, leaving Bayleef to slam herself onto his back, stepping on his hurt wing and dragging them both towards the frozen battlefield.

"Latios, use-" Tobias' command was cut off by a crackle and a flash of yellow. Latios had been paralyzed by the direct hit. "Use calm mind." Latios closed his eyes, and the light level seemed to decrease slightly in the area. Tobias, having calmed himself, spoke his next command quietly. "Turn upside down." The dragon type spun to face his back to the floor, and Bayleef fell off towards the ground.

"Bayleef, grab on with Vine Whip!"

Tobias had other ideas. "Block it with reflect, Latios." The reflect was pulled up, smooth enough for the Vines to slip off the legendary Pokemon and send Bayleef tumbling to the icy floor, face first.

Ash had to think fast; Bayleef would be knocked out if she hit the ice at that speed! "Razor Leaf, rapid fire!" The yellowish Pokemon obeyed happily, throwing hundreds of leaves from her head. Ash and Pikachu beamed as she began to spin, heading straight for an ice spire on the ground. "Roll down the ice, then jump with Vine Whip again!" Bayleef sped down the hill, outmatching even the speed of Donphan, and sprung up once more towards Latios, letting out a war cry as she went.

"Dodge it, Latios!" Tobias' command came too late, as Latios was immobilised by paralysis. Trainer and Pokemon's eyes widened together as no less than six purple balls of energy formed around Bayleef's head.

Ash's hunch was right, and he punched a fist into the air, dislocating it once more as he shouted his command. "Finish it with a dragon type Hidden Power!"

A huge explosion sounded throughout the stadium as all six spheres collided with the blue flyer. Out of the smoke plummeted Latios, landing hard on the ground. Ash and Pikachu cheered as the remaining fighter fell right into her trainer's arms, hardly helping with the injury, but Ash didn't care as he celebrated their headstart.

"Latios is unable to battle so Bayleef wins, and the first round victory goes to Ash Ketchum!

**"And that's all she wrote! Ash has gained an incredible headstart, proving once more that he and his Pokemon are the cream of the crop! The second two-on-two match will take place tomorrow at twelve o'clock, so be certain to not miss it! I certainly won't!"**

"You were amazing, Bayleef," Ash praised, scratching his Pokemon's neck as she snuggled up to him. "Now we need to get you and Heracross to the Pokemon center!"

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! You may be a little confused, so I'll clear a few things up.<strong>

**Firstly, Ash was sorted with someone else for the semi finals, and soundly beat them into the ground.**

**Secondly, this is a Smart!Ash fic, so I think this win was conceivable. I also think Ash would see some tell-tale signs of learning a new move.**

**Heracross could hear Ash through the power of friendship, much like Sceptile could in the canon match. I'll chalk it up to training from the start of the Conference.**

**The final match between Ash and Tobias will take three days, on each of which is a two-on-two battle. The match is decided by the best two of three matches. Neither trainer can use the same Pokemon twice. If, for example, Tobias had beaten Ash with just Darkrai, he would still only be able to use two Pokemon for the next round.**

**If you have any questions, ask in a review and I'll try to answer in the header of the next chapter.**


End file.
